YouTube is including video chapter listings to go looking, which could possibly be a brand new web optimization consideration

YouTube wants to improve its in-app search tools with new video chapters in search results and expanded access to content in different languages ​​to expand search capacity.

The big update is video chapters in the search. Back in July, YouTube announced that it would introduce automatic chapter segmentation for all uploaded video clips, with the YouTube system working to identify key elements in each video in order to improve and refine user navigation.

Now let’s see exactly how YouTube wants to use this element in its search tools.

YouTube today added a new search element that allows users to refine their search on specific elements of each clip to quickly find the exact section they are looking for.

As you can see here, now whenever a video shows up in your YouTube search results, you can also tap a new Chapter drop-down menu that allows you to link to specific elements of that clip, right from your search results.

As explained by YouTube:

“Previously, when you searched for a video on YouTube, you would see a thumbnail of each video, which gave you the opportunity to take a brief snapshot of what was inside the video. Now you can make even more informed decisions about what to do using the video chapters directly on the search page. When available, these timestamped images show the various topics covered in the videos and allow you to better rate the video you want to watch. You can also jump directly to the section most relevant to your particular interest. “

Note that this is not yet available for all videos. According to YouTube’s original announcement of automated chapters, not all videos are eligible for auto-segmentation, but over time, YouTube will lead there as it seeks to improve discoverability by providing more specific video segment matches for each query.

It’s also worth noting that creators can edit the auto-added segments in their clips or enter them manually, which could provide a new way of discovery.

As you can see in the example above, each chapter is specially labeled and named – for marketers and those looking to maximize their video recognition, it may be worth checking the segmentation of your clips and optimizing those chapter names based on the relative search volume of keywords. If you know people are looking for “black shoelace” information and you have a specific segment of video to do it, you can manually add that title to your clip.

However, don’t spam it in terms unrelated to your video. Google is pretty good at detecting this type of inauthentic activity.

In addition, YouTube is also introducing autoplay video samples in search results thumbnails on mobile devices (already available on desktop) and starting a new test that will display search results from other languages ​​with automatically translated subtitles.

“That means someone in Thailand can learn about quantum physics from a professor at MIT, or viewers in Brazil can explore the Grand Canyon from home with subtitles in their local language. We will add English videos to the search results and plan to do so expand.” in more languages. We hope that translated subtitles will make all global content more accessible and help creators reach a more global audience. “

Finally, YouTube also wants to provide more context for some YouTube searches with additional website links for specific topics obtained through Google Search. Ideally, this will provide users with more sources of data for low-volume search results and / or controversial search results that can be helpful with search queries even when video content is not available.

These are helpful additions that have a direct impact on video SEO and the discovery process.

You can find more information about YouTube’s automatic video chapters here.